ARCADIA, CA - The California Horse Racing Board conducted its regular meeting Friday, February 19, at Santa Anita Park. Chairman Keith Brackpool presided. Vice Chairman David Israel and Commissioners Bo Derek, Jesse Choper, Jerry Moss, and Richard Rosenberg were in attendance. During the meeting:

• Chairman Brackpool, convening his first regular meeting of the Board since being elected chairman by his fellow commissioners last month, opened with a statement outlining some of his plans and goals for the coming year. He acknowledged that the Board and the horse-racing industry "have a difficult time ahead, but we have passion and energy, and the fundamentals of the sport are still there." He said the CHRB will be making "serious changes in direction in many areas. There are things we want to focus on in the coming months. For example, the CHRB mission statement includes a responsibility to promote horse racing. We intend to have a renewed focus on the promotion of horse racing. Anything we can do to facilitate what (the industry is) doing is of tremendous interest to us." He said the committees of the Board have been reorganized, and "over the coming months there will be committee meeting focusing on one subject or another. We'll give everyone an opportunity to offer their ideas. Even if a consensus is not reached, we will hear the pros and cons and allow stakeholders to spend a great deal of time addressing the issues." Click here to read complete report »»

Lameness in the horse is a situation that we, as horse owners, will at some point have to face. Diagnosing that lameness is often harder than treating the condition. Pose your questions for this month's expert, Omar Maher, DV, DACVS from the New England Equine Medical and Surgical Center, regarding the topic of advanced technologies in lameness diagnosis.